BHEL Launches Remote-Controlled Weapons Station

Public sector defense electronics major, Bharat Electronics Limited (BHEL) on Tuesday launched remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) for the Indian Army’s Arjun tanks at Aero India, an official said.

“The RCWS is an improvised version of the manually operated air defence gun. It enables the soldier to aim and fire at aerial targets from the safe interiors of the battle tank. Presently, the 120.7 mm guns of all tanks are manually operated,” a statement said.

The design and development of this system has been by the BHEL on its own, the official said in the statement. “RCWS integrated on MBT (Arjun) Mk II has successfully completed tank integration and firing trials in September 2015,” it added.

Arjun Mk II is an upgraded version of the Arjun MBT which is at present being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It can be mounted on the Armed Repair and Recovery Vehicle (ARRV) and fast moving boats of the Indian Coast Guard.

It allows the operator to control the gun and sight from the operating console and joy stick from inside the turret away from the harms way. The system has a provision for the operator to do automatic loading and firing of the gun.